For its 76th anniversary, the SMET Group, founded by head of the family Domenico De Rosa senior back in 1947, is tinged with granata in honor of a new, solid and lasting friendship with U.S Salernitana 1919.
The new IVECO vehicle with the colors and logo of President Danilo Iervolino’s team was unveiled yesterday at SPA Easyfuel on Via Cappello Vecchio in Salerno. An iconic vehicle of Salernitana that seals a new important value partnership between the Salerno-based integrated logistics company and the ambitious regional capital’s soccer club, which, with the arrival of the Palma Campania entrepreneur, is experiencing the most magical moments of its already glorious 104-year history. It is precisely with Danilo Iervolino moreover that Domenico De Rosa shared last year’s Oscar for Innovation awarded by ANGI, the National Association of Young Innovators, for achievements in their respective fields.
In the presence of friends, family members, employees, executives, stakeholders, customers, and institutional and business partners, the big SMET celebration saw Domenico De Rosa, CEO of SMET and grandson of the founder Domenico De Rosa senior, speak about tradition and at the same time innovation on stage, introduced by questions from journalist Carmen Incisivo.
“Thank you all for being here, once again, to show your love for SMET and what it represents,” De Rosa began, “This is a moment of sharing. Of values, of stories, of people who with us have believed in our enterprise, in our way of moving forward and sustaining challenges that were unthinkable for others.”
De Rosa then spoke about the relationship between the family, the company and the territory: “Ever since my grandfather Domenico founded SMET in 1947,” he said, “the territory has always been one of the pillars of our enterprise. An unquestionable and untouchable element. That is why we wanted to pay tribute to the Salernitana, an icon of a Southern Italy that, with tenacity, manages to embody rules of success, winning organization and commitment. A way to carry the name of Salernitana through the streets of Europe.”
De Rosa also dwells on the balance sheet of this 2023 and on the challenges of the future: “In logistics we close our balance sheet in August, to start again in September even more charged and full of ideas,” concludes the SMET CEO. “It has been a year in which we have carried out important projects, with the sign of more. We have more people with us, more boardings, more rail routes, more partners. As long as we are always with this sign, we have nothing to fear. We are looking forward to finding out what opportunities and challenges will be for the future.”
The ball then passed to the CEO of Salernitana, Maurizio Milan, among the evening’s guests of honor: “With Domenico De Rosa I discovered a great innovator,” he said, “Both President Iervolino and I are delighted with this gift and this new partnership. We are on the verge of a third season in Serie A. A record for a Salernitana that wants to unite through its fans’ passion for soccer. We, like SMET, also want a season marked by more. I strongly believe that this union, which starts from an element of passion like soccer, will bring out the excellence of Southern Italy in a message of commitment and innovation.”
“It is with great enthusiasm that we are present to celebrate together the important milestones achieved, once again, by our friend and partner Domenico De Rosa – said Sara Ferrajoli, CEO MECAR – A deep bond, the one that unites MECAR to Smet Group and that, born from the sharing of the same value system based on innovation, vision and sustainability, over the years has been enriched by jointly conceived, shared and implemented projects, with the aim of shaking up and revolutionizing the logistics and transport sector. I wish the Smet Group and its entire team, that each year will always be a point of restart and rebirth, with the constant goal of always remaining a revolutionary and cutting-edge reality.”
“We are honored to take part, together with our dealer Mecar, in Smet’s 76th anniversary, celebrated with a spectacular 490-hp IVECO S-Way Fuel Hero, customized for the occasion with a special livery,” said instead Fabrizio Buffa, IVECO Medium and Heavy Range Manager IVECO Market Italy. “As IVECO, we are promoters of team spirit and it is a pleasure to accompany, year after year, a partner who is attentive to the environment and innovation. Indeed, over time, our vehicles have been key players in the success of the Smet Group and still stand ready to lead the way for change in the company’s present and future.”
“Until you live there, many people think that the South is just an area that is a victim of the usual clichés,” concluded finally Guido Grimaldi, CEO of the Grimaldi Group and president of Alis, the Association for Sustainable Logistics and Intermodality, of which SMET is a founding member. “Instead, we have wonderful excellence, companies that accomplish extraordinary feats in beautiful places with warm and welcoming people. There is vision, foresight and, above all, a hunger to emerge here. One of the values we have always had in common with Domenico De Rosa is that of passing on the teachings of our grandparents and fathers to our children in a succession of generations that will have the task of giving wealth not only to our employees but to the entire Campania region.”